Twenty-four people died in a head-on collision between a midi-bus and truck on the N2 highway to Grahamstown on Saturday, Arrive Alive said.
It is believed the midi-bus was travelling south from Paterson to Port Elizabeth when it collided with a Clover dairy truck at 9am, spokesperson Tshepo Machaea said.
Seven people were in a serious condition at various hospitals around Port Elizabeth.
The cause of the accident was still unknown, and the N2 had been partly reopened, Machaea said.
Provincial safety minister Thobile Mhlahlo said he visited the accident scene on Saturday morning.
”When I got there I heard four people had been trapped under the truck for three hours. Emanating from my visit to the scene, I suspect the taxi was overloaded because it was a 16-seater,” Mhlahlo said.
He called on business to assist his department in providing defensive-driving courses to taxi drivers.
”I cannot understand why a driver is not trained in [defensive] driving and then still be tasked to protect the lives of so many,” he said.
Mhlahlo was expected to visit several hospitals in Port Elizabeth where those who were critically injured were taken. — Sapa